Team Secrets: What if
by Shadow R-B
Summary: What if Team Skull hid more than anybody thought they had? What if they had a hidden teammate hiding all the time? What would happen if that hidden teammate came upon the rivaling rescue team? Better than it sounds, PMD: Explorers of Time fic SPOILERS!


friendship

Pat: A fanfic that I thought out after reading a friendshipshipping fic. Enjoy!

Him.

Of all the pokemon rescue team leaders she could've fallen for, it had to be him.

Asura the Lucario, leader of team Spark Aura.

It was good that she had someone to care for, sure, but just who, wasn't. Considering the response she'd most likely receive from her own team leader. She shuddered at the thought.

"What?! Absol, you've fallen for our rival?! That's inexcusable! Koffing, prepare for our noxious gas combo!" At which, the two, Skuntank and Koffing, would throw a huge cloud of poison at her, the Zubat at their side laughing.

Hikari the Absol positively HATED her team, wishing to join team Spark Aura, but unable to, due to the fear imprinted upon her.

When she'd been born, her parents, out of the supposed _humor_ they contained, named her Hikari, which was ironic, as a strong light shone in the dark pokemon's heart. That same supposed _humor_ convinced them to abandon her in an alley, leaving her to die. It was at that time that Skuntank, then a Stunky, had found her while looking for food, and immediately took her home, treating her 'nicely'. He forced her to eat garbage, many times leaving her to suffer from many an illness. He fed her lies, every time, the light in her dimming a bit. It only got worse when Zubat and Koffing had appeared, as she was now forced to hide from others a lot, doing their dirty work for them, picking up info about rivaling teams to use against them. The light was dangerously close to succumbing to darkness…

It wasn't until team Spark Aura came along, that she began to see things differently.

Her infatuation had started like this:

She had, grudgingly, been forced to follow Skuntank and his accomplices to Apple Woods, where they hoped to foil a new team's chance of getting picked for an exploration, Skuntank positively _giddy_ at the chance of spoiling a team's dream. Hikari sighed, shaking her head.

'Skuntank-sama… Why must we do this ever chance we get?' she thought, silently following.

When team Spark Aura appeared, she hid among the leaves of a large tree branch, the others doing the same. When the others leaped down to confront the team, she hid, studying their targets. A scaredy-cat Pikachu stood, glancing nervously at her (Hikari's) teammates, a solemn Lucario standing a bit farther away. Hikari gasped at the sight of him.

She was… awestruck, to say the least. A form of intelligence glowed in his eyes, and Hikari could immediately tell that he was not an ordinary Lucario.

So engrossed in her thoughts, that she nearly fell off the branch when Skuntank tackled the tree, the dark pokemon letting a short, quite yip of surprise fly from her mouth. Her eyes widened in mild fear, claws gripping onto the branch with ferocity. She glanced at her teammates. They'd noticed nothing, as usual. She nervously turned her attention to their opposing team, the Pikachu not noticing anything, either, but the Lucario glancing straight at her. She gasped, eyes the size of saucers, fear growing a bit.

'Oh, no. If… if he says anything about me, I'm dead!' Hikari thought, praying to Arceus he wouldn't. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, when his partner yelled something, his attention returning to the skunk and co. Hikari sighed in relief, but soon gasped in horror when Skuntank and Koffing used their noxious gas combo on them, knocking them out. They cackled, gathering up all the apples on the ground, and left.

Hikari waited a few minutes before jumping down, examining the fallen pair, studying the Lucario the most. A pair of ruby red eyes similar to her own flashed open, the Absol nearly shrieking in shock. The eyes homed in on her, the owner sitting up, rubbing his head.

"Hey. Are you all right?" he asked her, Hikari soon becoming aware that she was shaking like a leaf. She said nothing, slowly backing away. The jackal started, surprised by the sudden change in character.

"Hey... Don't go, I won't hurt you." He spoke softly, soothingly, Hikari wanting nothing more than to trust him. But she couldn't. Skuntank had imprinted so many lies and facts on her, that it'd become difficult for her to tell truth from fact. Add to that, Skuntank had threatened her so much, she feared for her well-being.

"I know you wouldn't hurt me, but Skuntank-sama would," she mumbled, soon finding herself pressed against the tree trunk. She had backed herself into a corner.

Asura, as she came to know as, tilted his head, confusion alight in his eyes.

"Skuntank-sama? You mean… He and those other two are your teammates?" he asked, Hikari nodding, head hung in shame.

'Now, he'll never again trust you, you ahou.' she thought, surprised when she felt a paw petting her head softly, Asura smiling.

"I can tell you've been through a lot. Care to share it with me?" he asked, Hikari fighting off tears.

"O-okay…" she said shakily, lying down next to the jackal, who sat. Skye, his Pika-partner, had long since woken up, and, intrigued, sat next to them, eyes wide in wonder.

"When I was young, my mother and father left me in a dark alley, laughing their heads off. They said, 'Who'd want a worthless thing like you, Hikari-child?' They ran off, and just left me there to die… It was then that a young Stunky came along, scrounging around for food. He took me in, but treated me… horribly. He made me eat garbage, left me struggling to live, and when Zubat and Koffing appeared, and he'd evolved, he forced me to hid, to sneak around, spying, getting dirt of some teams. It was… horrible, to say the least. He's threatened me so many times… I… I…" Hikari stopped, gulping down thick tears. Asura patted her head softly, soothing her frazzled nerves.

"I see… Well, no matter now, Skye and I shall protect you, Hikari. Skuntank and the others will never lay a paw on you ever again." he said, Skye nodding. Hikari sighed, nuzzling Asura.

"Thank you… But, what if…" A memory flashed through her mind, the dark pokemon recoiling.

_Never become too attached to your teammates… Otherwise, we'll be the ones to show you why! Chaw-haw-haw-haw!_ Skuntank's voice echoed, Hikari shaking her head.

"No. I couldn't. Skuntank might-"

"Skuntank might what, desho? Kill us, desho? Nope, Asura and I, we're much stronger than we appear to be, desho! Don't worry, Hikari, we'll protect you, desho!" Skye exclaimed, the 'desho' adding to his cute accent. Hikari glanced at Asura, hope in her eyes. He nodded, smiling. Smiling back, she nodded as well, the light within her swelling.

"Alright. I'll join your team, Asura-sama and Skye-kun! Skuntank-gaki will never hurt this light ever again!" she laughed, the others smiling.

"Good. But, you don't have to call me master. Nobody is the master of you, only you are, Hikari. Okay?" Asura explained, the dark pokemon nodding. They left off, Hikari carrying a little something extra with her.

For one, her Wonder Bag.

For another, a Perfect Apple.

The day her infatuation started was the day her life started. After seeing the shocked look on everyone's face when she gave Wigglytuff the apple, especially Skuntank's, her confidence grew, Asura and Skye supporting her. After everything else that had happened, Dusknoir, Grovyle, Dialga, Scizor, Regigigas, Palkia, Cresselia and Darkrai, they were inseparable. Skye had, eventually, evolved into a mighty Raichu, and Moon, their little Eevee partner, who'd joined after hatching from an egg, evolved into a chilling Glaceon, their team becoming near-undefeatable. Nothing, not Heatran, Girantina, Mew, Rayquaza, Kyogre, Groudon, the legendary bird trio, or dog trio, heck, even the lake trio wouldn't be able to defeat them!

'And, I hope it stays that way for a long time!' Hikari thinks now, Asura at one side, Skye at the other, Moon sighing with glee.

'Because, with our teamwork and trust in each other, we'll pull through anything!'

Owari

-Japanese translations!-

Gaki- Brat

Desho- Right, Maybe

Sama- Master, Lord

Kun- I think it means 'friend' or 'teammate'

Hikari- Light

Asura- If you've played SaGa Frontier, you'll know what it is, if not, you wouldn't understand .

Hope ya'll enjoyed it! Ja ne, and please don't forget to review! It's probably the best I'll come up with for a long while!


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